In March of 2022, Max Wetzel, former Papa John's executive, became Hardee’s new CEO. The same year, the parent company of Hardee’s, CKE, revealed that they planned a $500 million rebranding program to update things like the signage, brand statement, lighting, and more.
Five Guys and their burger chain grew by 19 stores in 2022 and reached $2.2 billion in systemwide sales. Additionally, the brand's per-store sales rose from approximately $400,000 to $1.7 million.
The sandwich chain first introduced drive-thru-only restaurants in 2022 and while they closed 26 regular storefronts the same year, they still saw an increase in AUV (average unit volume) from $886,000 to $900,000.
The new loyalty program, Zax Rewards, was launched in late 2022 and not only boosted app downloads but also helped with customer engagement. Zaxby's had grown to over 922 locations and $2.38 billion in systemwide sales as of 2022.
In 2022, market prices for bone-in wings fell by 44% causing the cost of sales to decrease. Due to the lower expenses, Wingstop was able to drive an 8.7% same-store sales increase in the fourth quarter.
Jersey Mike's had been expanding rapidly and added 297 stores in 2022 totaling 2,397 stores with an average unit volume of over $1.2 million.
In 2022, US sales surpassed $2.8 billion which put them up 13.7% from $2.489 billion in 2021. Another highlight from 2022 was the return of the famous CurderBurger which is topped with cheese curds.
From 2019 to 2022, Raising Cane’s added 246 locations and the AUV rose from $3.6 million to $5.4 million. The company is also known for having spent hundreds of millions on things like wage increases and other employee efforts in recent years.
This burger chain expanded by 52 new stores in 2022 which was a 9.6% increase from the previous year.
For Little Caesars, 2022 was a very difficult year. From staffing shortages, a difficult delivery environment, and macroeconomic headwinds, the quick-service pizza category suffered.